Chelsea have started planning to work on their summer targets with Antonio Conte eager to make his side one of the best in the world. This summer transfer window is expected to raise many eyebrows with many world class players being ready to change loyalties. One such superstar of the game who is linked to Chelsea is Neymar. The Brazilian has been a long-term target for the Blues and the Sunday Times report that Chelsea are keen on spending a whopping £170 million on the forward in the summer.
Neymar is considered as one of the best players in the world and is often touted as the heir to Lionel Messi at FC Barcelona. Recently, he scored his 100th goal for the club in such a short amount of time after joining the Catalans from Santos in 2013. He has reached the landmark of 100 goals for his current club faster than Lionel.
Chelsea know of Neymar’s abilities and the club hierarchy believes that the 25-year old will one day become the best in the world. This is the reason why the Blues are ready to spend a world record amount for Neymar which will make him the most expensive player of all time. He also recently said in an interview that it would be fun to play in England which has made Chelsea confident of their advances.
It is being said that Neymar wants an after-tax salary of £21.2 million per year from his new club which translates to £408,000 per week. This will make Neymar earn higher than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi along with making him the highest paid player in Europe.
Jose Mourinho and Manchester United are also interested in the idea of luring Neymar to the Premier League but the Brazilian will not leave Barcelona for a club without Champions League football which probably will be the case for the Red Devils next season. Hence Chelsea won’t find much competition for the signing of Neymar with reports suggesting the player has told his friends that he is looking at offers from the Premier League seriously.
With Real Madrid ready to spend £100 million on Eden Hazard, Chelsea have identified Neymar as a replacement for the Belgian with the 25-year old Brazilian being an obvious upgrade on Hazard. At Stamford Bridge, Neymar will be the focal point of the team and the talisman of the club, the status he is lacking currently at FC Barcelona. However good his form may be, Neymar will always play second fiddle to Lionel Messi and it is this reason which might see him finally plying his trade in the Premier League.
